Free Web NovelChapter 193: Chapter 144: Meal After Police Dispatch
The boss’s surname was Zhan, claiming he was a relative of James Bond himself.
Very humorous.
But the boss didn’t know that someone here was even more humorous.
Qi Xiaohui didn’t catch the boss’s self-introduction, so he quietly asked Fang Huai, who seemed the most educated among the conscripts:
"James Bond? Is he the one who fixes railroads or something?"
Xiao Haishan replied in his deep and stuffy voice, "Squad leader, have you ever watched a movie? 007!"
With that, he gave a thumbs-up:
"Great! (Bond) Really great! (James Bond)"
Fang Huai burst out laughing so hard that a noodle shot out of his nose, clearing his sinuses entirely.
That had everyone looking on, fully satisfied, scrapping the last of the seafood from their stir-fried noodles and setting down their chopsticks.
A meal after a midnight call or a meal missed because of dispatch was a necessary part of the routine.
If the leading cadre didn’t feed the brothers a good meal before going back after dispatch, it was a synonym for incompetence.
Of course, it wasn’t absolute.
First, the call had to be long enough to be worth it.
Second, the cadre had to have the goods.
To have the goods meant having a surplus in the squadron’s food budget, like when Fang Huai previously arranged for a cow, benefiting not only those who enjoyed the meal but also the squadron leaders.
They saved quite a bit on groceries those two or three days, which could later be used for meals during dispatches.
Otherwise, you had to have thick skin, begging for food wherever you were dispatched—to the town government, the police station, even the village chief’s office.
The towns and villages did fall for this. If you were fast and put out the fire well, you could shamelessly beg for a meal.
And some institutions hosted good meals—roast lamb legs, big pot meat, wood-fired chicken, all delicious.
It gave them a legitimate opportunity to join the soldiers for a duty meal in good company.
In his previous life, Fang Huai’s superior was actually quite good at this. That captain, whenever they were dispatched, would always find delicious food for everyone.
Chickens from the east village, geese from the west hamlet, cows from the south district, sheep from the north town—as if there was nothing he couldn’t get.
That mouth of his was persuasive, making hosts feel compelled to feed them well.
The only rule was not to eat from the poor.
The soldiers weren’t picky eaters; anything would do, but the captain was.
Over time, everyone occasionally reminisced about the places, named after the local delicacies.
"Why haven’t we been dispatched to Braised Beef Shank Town in a while?"
"The school in Beer Duck Village hasn’t called us for a fire drill in ages, huh."
Every time they were dispatched somewhere, the soldiers would excitedly shout the names of local delicacies while boarding, rushing to get there super fast.
When Fang Huai was a non-commissioned officer, he once curiously asked the captain, "Captain, why do you always look for tasty things every time we’re dispatched?"
The captain smiled and replied, "They’re all half-grown kids, with a sweet tooth. Full bellies keep them from missing home food."
Fang Huai thought it made a lot of sense and took note of it.
But he ended up getting discharged without ever becoming a platoon leader.
...
As they were leaving, Instructor Cao actually hit it off with General Zhan, treating him kindly and losing the commanding air he had earlier.
Perhaps he remembered that most of Special Service Squadron 2’s jurisdiction was in the city, and the clerks from the street offices were not so amiable; people in the city were more calculating and less simple, making it harder to charm them.
Since General Zhan owned a big restaurant and was very passionate, maybe he could treat the brothers to a feast when the time came.
Or maybe, for the New Year in ’09, they might not rely on Liu Lao Er’s Villa for sponsoring a sheep as the New Year’s special dish anymore.
After all, there had to be some form of PY transaction to make a stern person like Cao Yi reveal a smile reminiscent of his ancestor Cao Cao.
When Cao Yi returned, he rode in vehicle number 2, saying he didn’t want to sit with those who smelled like they’d been roasted.
The moment the car door closed, silence ensued, and the slamming of the door was the signal that quietness had settled, and everyone’s worn faces were summoned to doze off, squinting.
Just now at the fire scene, running around with dozens of pounds of equipment for an hour and a half, it was a lie to say they weren’t tired.
Especially Squad One who attacked from the inside; the feeling on their skin was like being in a sauna. When Fang Huai came out of the kitchen, he stepped heavily into a puddle of water, and it was still warm when he wiped his shoes after exiting.
Every member of Squad One secretly took a half-minute breather when they came out to switch their air tanks, then cooled off their heads with a splash from Second Squad’s water gun before going back in.
Vehicle 1’s occupants were probably asleep by now.
"On the way out, I noticed you didn’t make any calls. Did you inform the Instructor?" Hao Chengbin suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Cao Yi wiped his face and laughed:
"You country boy, our place here is the Provincial Brigade. Since last year, we don’t have to notify the big team leadership when we’re dispatched.
From last year, the Brigade Command Center started taking emergency calls and dispatching directly. When they dispatch a squadron, the operator also sends a text to the big team’s leaders about it.
And when we return, the big team leadership gets a message too.
They’ve set up some internal network technology—I can’t make heads or tails of it, but it’s all connected.
Over in Anshun, you guys still have each squadron taking emergency calls, right? Communication officers, like vampires, holed up in their rooms, daring not to leave?"
Hao Chengbin, upon hearing this, suddenly found himself at a loss. freёweɓnovel.com
He laughed awkwardly and said:
"Taking emergency calls at the squadron, isn’t that a good thing?
They can even understand the rural dialect and communicate well with callers! They’re familiar with the jurisdiction. Can the brigade handle calls from rural areas if they oversee a whole city or province? Can they understand the farmers?
And squadron emergency calls, they’re actually kind of fun!
Let me tell you, back at Anshun Special Duty, there was a kid who started prank calling 119 for chats when he was eight. The squadron operators initially ignored him, but then the kid claimed he was suicidal, so they had to give him an alternate phone number to chat with him.
Determined little bugger, he called every day, for ten years, wearing down three operators until they got discharged.
This year the kid’s taking the College Entrance Examination, determined to get into a good university. We all took turns encouraging him over the phone, and the squadron even discussed letting him ride in a fire truck once he graduates!"
"Everyone was curious to see what that kid looked like, but too bad, I can no longer see it," Fang Huai lamented with a laugh.
That kid, in his previous life at the Anshun Brigade, had indeed been talked about.
As for getting into a decent university, what a joke.
He only got into a local sports higher vocational education.
What kind of good university can a student who calls the fire brigade in the middle of the night for a chat get into?
By the time Fang Huai was discharged, the guy had actually joined the firefighting forces and worked as a clerk in Anshun. On his first day, he said he was inspired from a young age by the firefighters and told a touching story that moved the Big Team to consider him for recognition.
A month later, he claimed that firefighting wasn’t what he thought it was, not as noble, and he resigned to enlist in the military.
Those who join the troops based on such fantasies often find the reality disappointing and start making grandiose statements.
A passion born of fantasy can sometimes be more harmful than cold-bloodedness.
Patriotism is always the primary motivation for joining the army and continuing to serve.
Secondary reasons could be joining the Party, learning to drive, further education, promotion, becoming a non-commissioned officer... or more simply, passion.
True passion is inseparable.
Fang Huai had chatted with many people, asking when they planned to be discharged. Those who frivolously said they would keep going until they brought the fire brigade to its knees were all very capable.
But what no one ever expected was that these men would actually bring the brigade to its knees.
...
He had just joined the squadron.
[Police Dispatch: A-level evaluation.]
[Reward: 6 military merit points.]
[Areas for improvement:
At 3:56, proceeding directly below a potential falling hazard could result in being struck to death.
Upon entering the kitchen, failure to notice the situation above, standing beneath a storage room suspected of containing explosives.
The approach taken on the third floor was too rough, leading to greater losses.]
Fang Huai was rather stunned looking at these.
Under a suspected falling object? That exterior billboard?
The kitchen... under the storage room??
...It seems so, both at the end of the corridor.
Was the third floor handled too roughly?
...Indeed, going up to the third floor with a ladder and a hose might have sufficed, considering it was still the early stages of combustible gas accumulation and combustion.
Upon reflection, he realized that tonight was like a post-exam review with quite a few mistakes!
No, it was mainly that there were just too many dangers on a fire scene.
Some risks need to be taken when necessary.
Fang Huai consoled himself.
Now he had 25 military merit points, enough to exchange for quite a few things, which could boost his confidence in a critical moment.
"Everyone, go to sleep! Today we’re compensating with an extra three hours of rest, get up at ten!"
By the time they returned to the squadron, it was already past six o’clock, and Cao Yi gave everyone a reasonable amount of time to catch up on sleep.
This period could be officially reported as the squadron’s "closed for business" time, meaning that even if there were alerts in the area, the Brigade Command Center would assign them to other squadrons.
However, aside from such special occasions, there were the "holidays."
Starting from the 1st of January this year, they could also be known as "statutory holidays."
On these days, many are second-level readiness days for the firefighters; don’t expect others to cover the shift because they are pretty damn busy too.
Television programs and widespread online messages about "during the holidays, firefighters give up their reunions, sacrifice gatherings..."
Pure damn nonsense.
All year round, firefighters have to give up reunions, it’s just that during the holidays, they have to work an extra shift, patrolling the streets.
After everyone dispersed, the four new recruits, carrying their exhaustion, took the hoses off the truck, ready for cleaning.
They were well aware that they weren’t included in this overtime rest, and had to hang out the hoses after washing them, replace the hoses in the equipment store, clean up, tidy up their bedding...
By the time they finished, the squad leaders should be about ready to get up and inspect their work.
"Fang Huai, you entered the fire scene during the call-out today too, go catch some extra sleep!" Cao Yi noticed Fang Huai was also busy and turned back to remind him.
Although Fang Huai had been hopping around the whole scene today, Cao Yi knew that he must have been the biggest contributor.
Fang Huai simply paused and then looked up, "Instructor, you should go rest! I’m not tired!"
With the new recruits busy, Cao Yi couldn’t say much more, but he felt like Fang Huai had been on a stimulant all day.
And whenever he checked the rooms at night, Fang Huai always woke up easily. fгeewebnovёl.com
It wasn’t some kind of special ability, it was likely some trick for slacking off.
"Alright, you’re all tired, get your tasks done quickly and hide out in the pickup truck to rest well. I’ll get the squad leader to call you if anything comes up."
The new recruits were stunned.
Damn, you know about our hiding place for rest?
Witnessing the surprised expressions on the rookies’ faces, Cao Yi couldn’t help but chuckle.
Heh, that pickup truck, you think it’s not stored in the garage for no reason? Parked beside the training tower, with such a good vantage point, so concealed?
It’s to prevent you from hiding elsewhere, making it easier to find you in case something happens!
Year after year, new recruits always think they’re clever.
This batch, even Fang Huai was played.
(Tonight’s update will be later, I wrote from 3 am till past 7 am, reaching over 2600 words, I really couldn’t keep up, just woke up.)
